Author's Notes: Chapter 2! Sessha gets bored of just reading sometimes, that she does. So instead she writes…

Disclaimer: I did not create and therefore do not own Rurouni Kenshin. In light of this some of the characters will probably be OOC. But isn't that what fanfics are all about?

Fever Days and Sleepless Nights

Chapter 2

Coming into the clinic early in the morning, Megumi was surprised to find a certain rooster head already there.

"What brings you here, rooster?" she asked surprised. "Not been in another fight, have you?"

"Nah…got a really bad headache…ugh…" Sano muttered.

"It's called a hangover, baka," retorted Megumi. Sano shook his head.

"I swear I didn't touch the sake," he said honestly, and Megumi saw he was telling the truth. Frowning, she went over to feel his forehead, withdrawing her hand almost instantly.

"Itai! You've got a really high fever!" she exclaimed.

"Told…you so…" Sano managed to say. Dimly he registered something cool being pressed to his forehead as Megumi held a wet cloth to his burning skin.

"Hold that there and tell me," she said, all business, "what you might have been doing to get in this state?"

Sano took longer than usual to remember, but the coolness on his head helped, and he remembered the previous afternoon's events.

"Kenshin and I… got attacked by some gang on the way back… from the market," he said slowly. "We beat them, but it was… pouring with rain…and we got soaked…" He smiled weakly. "Jou-chan was furious…"

"Well in that case," said Megumi briskly, "Ken-san will probably be ill too."

Sanosuke shook his head. "He'll never admit to being ill." He grinned. "He'll probably try and do chores like usual. Can never keep him away from that laundry."

"This is serious, baka," said Megumi seriously. "Ken-san will only make himself worse by trying to do chores, and what you two have might be contagious." She picked up her first-aid kit. "We'll have to go over to the dojo. You can come, and see if Kaoru will have you. But," she glared at him, "if you end up being a burden to her, you'll have to answer to me."

"Maa, maa," said Sano, holding up his hands as he had done with Kaoru. "I swear I'll be good." He followed her out of the door muttering, "Women…."

Kenshin slowly opened his eyes and dimly registered the brightness of everything around him. The sun was already up! But he didn't want to get up….his eyelids felt especially heavy and so did the rest of his body. It must have been because he slept so much last night. He was getting lazy. He cursed himself for that lapse and slowly heaved himself into a sitting position. He was aching all over and his body complained at every move he made. What was wrong with him? He shook his head, but that only made the room spin. Why was he like this?

With a great effort he managed to stand up, swaying unsteadily on his feet. He looked out of the window and noticed with relief that it was still early, the sun had only just risen. Which was a shame, because he liked to watch it rise; he did it every morning. Still, he couldn't hear Kaoru up and from the snores it seemed Yahiko was still asleep. But it seemed quieter – what was missing? Perhaps Sanosuke had stopped snoring.

It was only then that Kenshin realised he'd been standing in the middle of the room doing nothing for quite a while. With more mental curses he made his way slowly to the kitchen, ready to make breakfast as usual.

"Kenshin?"

Kaoru came into the kitchen in the morning to see Kenshin standing at the stove, staring into the miso soup he was making.

"…Are you okay?" Kaoru peered closely at Kenshin, who jerked out of a doze.

"Daijoubu (sp?) Kaoru-dono, gomen nasai," apologized Kenshin, begin to stir the soup again. "Sumenai, Sessha overslept…"

"It doesn't look like it," Kaoru commented. Kenshin's face was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes.

In a few minutes Kenshin had served up breakfast to Kaoru and a hungry Yahiko, who began to stuff the food down without a second's hesitation. Kaoru looked at her breakfast in a funny way for a second before beginning to eat it.

"Is it alright Kaoru-dono?" asked Kenshin anxiously.

"Hai, hai, it's very good," Kaoru assured him. "But there seems to be more than usual…"

"Don't worry, Kaoru-dono, Sessha is not using more than usual," Kenshin reassured her. Kaoru frowned as she put two and two together.

"Kenshin, aren't you having any?" Kenshin shook his head. "Sessha is not hungry, de gozaru yo." Kaoru stared at him worriedly until Yahiko said,

"Oi, busu, are you gonna eat that?"

"DON'T CALL ME BUSU!"

After breakfast Kenshin was going to do the laundry, but Kaoru stopped him. He looked too tired.

"You don't need to, Kenshin, there isn't much to do. You did it all yesterday," she reminded him. Kenshin frowned, puzzled; he did the laundry almost every day, if not daily. "Why don't you have a rest instead?" Kaoru suggested. "You look tired."

"Sessha is not tired, de gozaru yo," Kenshin assured her. "Sessha can do anything."

Kaoru twisted her mouth, unconvinced, but she said, "Well, I could use some help cleaning the dojo floors…"

"Of course, de gozaru!" said Kenshin cheerfully. Kaoru worriedly watched him go and fetch a broom, before shaking it off and going to order Yahiko about some more.

About ten minutes later Kaoru found Kenshin asleep against the wall, the broom resting against his shoulder. She noted with concern that this was how he used to sleep during the Revolution, but with a sword instead of a broom. She wondered whether to wake him or not, given that he needed to sleep. Quietly she approached him, and although he was a light sleeper, he didn't stir. She crouched down in front of him and gazed worriedly at his pale face, noticing how his cross-shaped scar stood out against his pale skin. Tentatively she reached out to trace the scar with one finger, only to withdraw her hand with a sharp intake of breath. At this, Kenshin's eyes fluttered open and he smiled a rurouni smile at her.

"Ohayo, Kaoru-dono," he greeted her. Then he looked around and realised he'd fallen asleep in the middle of a chore. His eyes opened wider.

"Gomen, gomen, Kaoru-dono!" he exclaimed as if she was going to tell him off. He lurched unsteadily to his feet, blinking through the haze that clouded his vision, and the pounding headache he had somehow acquired. "Sessha-" He broke off as Kaoru, looking perplexed, put a hand to his forehead. "….Koru-dono?" he asked worriedly.

"Kenshin, you're burning up!" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me? You've got a really high fever!"

"Sessha feels fine, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin muttered, although it was the complete opposite of the truth.

"That can't be true," Kaoru said, "you're so pale…"

"Really, there is no need to worry about Sessha." Kenshin attempted to take a couple of steps forward, swayed dangerously, and nearly overbalanced. Kaoru hastily put a hand on his shoulder, calling, "YAHIKO! Go get Megumi!"

"No need," came a familiar voice. The fox doctor entered the dojo, a very sick and sorry-looking Sanosuke in tow. She grinned. "Looks like we're going to have our hands full with these two for a while. Ohohohohohoho!"

Glossary of Japanese words

Baka – idiot

Sake – Japanese wine, or alcohol

Maa, maa – basically, 'calm down'

Daijoubu – I'm alright/it's alright

Kaoru-dono – Miss Kaoru

Gomen nasai, sumenai – sorry

Sessha – this unworthy one – Kenshin's name for himself

De gozaru, de gozaru yo – basically, Kenshin's way of being really polite

Hai – yes/okay

Busu – ugly

Ohayo – good morning